


The Art of Darkness

by peaxchyhearts



Category: The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Attempted Murder, Bad Parenting, Betrayal, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Churches & Cathedrals, Crimes & Criminals, Dark, Death, Demonic Possession, Demons, Exorcisms, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Family Secrets, Graphic Description of Corpses, Hopeful Ending, Hurt No Comfort, Justice, Law Enforcement, Lies, Mental Health Issues, Mental Instability, Mental Institutions, Murder, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Character Death, Past Child Abuse, Past Relationship(s), Police, Psychological Trauma, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, Suicidal Thoughts, United Kingdom, United States
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-17 00:13:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28965162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peaxchyhearts/pseuds/peaxchyhearts
Summary: Small children are going missing. They disappear for a few days and then they are discovered dead, mutilated beyond recognition three days later.Finn Mikaelson has been put onto the case after taking a 5-year break after the death of his young son and the sudden, unexpected suicide of his wife.It turns out that this case went far deeper and involves him and his family in ways that make him sick to his stomach. Dark secrets that lie deep in his family are eventually uncovered.Years worth of lies and questions also get answered, shaking him to his core. Betrayed by those he once trusted, making those people prime suspects.Then, all too late he starts to realise that the deaths of his son and wife may not have been natural at all...
Relationships: Finn Mikaelson & Freya Mikaelson, Finn Mikaelson/Original Female Character(s), Mikael/Esther Mikaelson, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Comments: 10
Kudos: 17





	1. The Beginning (pt 1)

**Author's Note:**

> AN: This is the first chapter of this work! I am so excited to share this with you all! 
> 
> This chapter may be short, but they do get longer, don't worry :)

The fog wrapped around like a cold, thin blanket as Finn Mikaelson drove down the streets towards the police station.

The year was 2019. 5 years after the deaths of his wife and son. But Finn could not bring himself to just sit around and grieve any longer. His father would not approve of that happening. Even though he was a mature 34-year-old man he still felt that he was still underneath the thumb of the old man. He still remembered his father’s disappointed face while him and Sage were drowning in their grief, observing the grave of their 4-year-old son who was taken too soon. Then he remembered his disgusted face just a month later when his wife had unexpectedly taken her life. The loss had been too great to possibly bear and then Finn Mikaelson was a widower and childless. Even his mother who he had been the closest to had abandoned him, no longer wanting to look at her eldest son who was careless with the lives of his wife and son.

Finn had felt utterly alone.

The tragedies had gripped their local community for weeks and months. He could not go out of the house without someone giving him a pitying smile, their eyes shining with sympathy as they said a few words of empty comfort that made him feel even colder inside. He just gave a tight smile and a curt nod in response and said a quiet “thank you,” before he went on his way. The people who had given him their condolences and support had eventually gone to their own lives. He had eventually moved away and put the house up for sale. He could not live in the same house as the murders took place. The house was still up for sale. He suspected that nobody wanted to buy it out of respect for him and the memory of his family, or that they did not want to reside in a property where brutal murders had taken place. Finn did not particularly blame them. Thankfully, the house was underneath the Mikaelson name, so he was able to move homes with no problems. He desperately needed a fresh start, and he could not do that with the memories of his wife and son plaguing him every day and night. He had eventually was diagnosed with anxiety and depression as a result. Finn was not surprised but his parents were again disappointed.

Over his grieving period, he remembered the comfort and support that he had gotten from his siblings. Each one of them had been there for him when he needed it the most. If his siblings had not been there for him, he did not even want to think about what could have happened to him. Even Klaus, the sibling that he was the least close to allowed Finn to lean on him as he cried his heart in grief, anger and agony as he mourned the loss of his small family. There were no sarcastic comments from Kol. Just words of reassurance. The things he said to him just made him cry further. He did not even realise that Kol had it in him to say those sorts of things. He was the one who usually hid his emotions behind a playful attitude and snarky comments.

 _‘Maybe he was finally growing up’_ he thought affectionately to himself as he drove into the car park of the Knightsbridge Police Headquarters. He took a few moments to prepare himself for what he knew was about to come. He took deep breaths and closed his eyes and willed himself to be calm. This was the first time in 5 whole years that he would be on the field again. He felt like a young boy on his first day of school. He shook his head and chuckled softly at his pettiness and opened the door of his black SUV and stepped out, breathing in the fresh air, locking the vehicle as he did so.

The fog was mostly cleared up. He was able to see clearly as he walked up the path. He stopped in front of the glass door; his hand poised on the blue handle. He took a shuddering breath and prayed to the gods for strength and guidance before swinging open the door and stepping inside the building.

It was then the memories over the past years struck him like a tidal wave. _Getting his first certificate, passing the police academy with flying colours - among the top in his class... Meeting Sage on that night when she had to come in after pressing charges against her nasty ex-boyfriend...introducing 2-year-old Ulrik to his colleagues, all of them fawning over the baby who looked like a mini - version of his father…_

“Finn, Finn!”

A voice brought him out of his flashbacks. Finn shook his head rapidly to clear his head and blinked, looking at the person who called him. It was Sinead, one of his faithful friends. He looked at her and smiled a small smile and looked in her dark forest green eyes which were filled with worry. “Hey,” he breathed as the woman engulfed him in a hug which he immediately returned, smiling into her shoulder, breathing in her calming pineapple and papaya– dipped in honey scent. He never knew that he needed a warm, comforting touch. He did not think that he deserved it. He allowed her scent to cascade him and fill his heart with warmth and assurance. She eventually pulled away, looking up into his face, a gentle smile gracing her beautiful features. “Welcome back, Finn Mikaelson,” she said, and Finn just smiled and embraced her again. He knew that he could get through anything with her on his side.


	2. The Beginning (pt2)

“Parks are empty, Parents are refusing to send their children to school. so now schoolwork is being transferred online,” Collins was saying, pacing up and down the room they were in. In all his years of investigative work, he never came across a case like this before. These were brutal murders of small children cruelly taken away from the world all too soon. “This is Martin King, a 3-year-old boy who was murdered just a week ago,” he continued, getting the picture of the young boy up on the screen. “He was mutilated beyond recognition. We were only able to identify him because of his dental records,” he explained. Everyone grimaced when the image was shown. The young lad’s intestines were hanging out of a gaping stomach wound with his small head half hanging off his shoulders, surrounded in a pool of his own blood and guts in what seemed to be the family home. “Oh my gosh...” someone murmured, shaking their head in disgust.

Finn just looked straight ahead, his arms crossed over his chest, his expression void of any emotion. Unbeknown to everyone else, his son was murdered in a similar way before, but it was a closed case because his mother did not trust the authorities and she did not want the incident to affect any of their careers. All the Mikaelson children were well into prosperous careers, following in their parents’ footsteps. If a case like this got out into the public domain, then everything that they worked hard for would be ruined. So, they just classed the murder as an animal attack without it being investigated further. Finn could not fight against his family but he wished that he did after all. Finn forced himself to focus. He had a task at hand, and he could not afford to get distracted so easily. He took a deep breath before speaking. “How many children of color have been attacked?” he asked in a monotone voice, looking at his superior right in the eye.

Collins looked flustered for a few moments, but he regained his composure. Sinead frowned for a few moments but relaxed her expression into a blank mask. Out of all his colleagues, she knew Finn the best. He never said anything unless there was a deeper meaning to it. Yes, the question was strange, and she suspected what he might say next, but she did not say anything, allowing herself to stand back and observe. Everyone looked to Collins and wondered what he was going to say in reply to Finns’ question. “Oh, no,” he coughed and then continued speaking. “This is the first murder investigation that we’ve had concerning children of colour,” he explained, his eyebrows furrowing slightly as he tried to genuinely understand what the other man was getting at. Finn hummed in response and nodded his head. “So, these cannot be racist or discriminatory attacks if all children of races are being affected by this, at least that is one thing that we can be certain about” he mused aloud as he walked up towards the screen. He ignored the looks of confusion that he was getting from his colleagues. He could not care, and he would not let a few strange looks affect his focus on the task at hand. He stared up into the screen and scoured the image, trying his best to ignore the harrowing image right in front of him. And then he saw it. In the top right corner – A perfect pentagram etched into the wall. He narrowed his eyes, almost squinting up at the screen. 

“Zoom in,” he asked in a quick tone of voice. Collins did as the male asked, wondering what he might have seen. After a few moments of silence, Finn spoke, glancing over at everyone. “Do you guys see it, on the top left corner on the wall,” he prompted them to follow his gaze and they came forward. Jennifer squinted and looked at the screen and gasped, her green eyes widening. “Oh, my goodness, is that a pentagram?” she whispered. She turned to look at Finn with large eyes. He nodded with an unreadable expression on his features, crossing his arms over his chest. “I recognise that sign,” she explained. “I think that we should go to a shop which deals with these types of things,” she explained. A shadow of a smile appeared on her lips when she saw the blank expressions of her colleagues, so she decided to explain further. “people who practice witchcraft or Wiccans, whatever you prefer to call it,” she said, turning to look at Collins who nodded in agreement. For the first time, they were finally getting somewhere.

“There is a shop in the town called Fortune and Magic, and we could ask for any information that they might have,” she finished and got nods of approval from everyone else. “Who knows, someone involved could have gone into the shop and asked about the sign and then decided to put it on the wall. But we must be careful so that we are not going after false leads,” Kaleb spoke up for the first time and everyone nodded Collins clapped his hands, bringing the discussion to a halt. “Sinead, Jennifer, Finn, and Kaleb are the ones to go into the town and see what they can find about that pentagram. The rest of us are on office duty to do research,” he said so that everyone was aware of what they were supposed to do. As everyone scattered in order to get to work, some grabbing their gear to go out and some heading off to do research, Collins pulled Finn towards the side. Finn sighed inwardly. He knew what was going to come up next.

He looked up to see the group waiting for him beside the door and he nodded at them, indicating that he would follow on after them and they seemed to get the message, disappearing on the other side. A squeeze to his shoulder brought him back. “Are you sure that you want to carry on, son?” Collins asked in a soft tone of voice. Finn was like a son to him that he never had. He could not believe the tragedies that he went through, and he wondered how the man was still living. But he knew that even if people on the outside looked as if they were alright, the inside was a whole different issue. He still felt suspicious at how quickly the case was closed. Collins knew that something evil had happened and he wanted to look further into it, but he did not have the power to do so. The Mikaelsons were influential and it was easy for them to nearly anything they wanted. _‘Even class clear murders as animal attacks’_ he thought to himself. That one of the reasons why he was not fond of rich families who were descended from old money.

Finn resisted the urge to clench his fists, but he felt emotions whirling inside him. He took a shuddering breath and closed his eyes, sending up a silent prayer to the Gods as he did so. He would not be surprised if he had a panic attack by the time the day ended. He was thankful for Collins and everyone around him, but he wanted to get through one day without anyone’s pity. It made him feel weak and he hated feeling weak. “I’m fine. I cannot just mope around, wasting the rest of my days mourning,” he explained in almost a growl, but the ever so familiar lump of pain clawed up his throat as he was speaking, causing his words to sound fake. Collins sighed. Finn was always so stubborn and headstrong- a common trait within the Mikaelson clan. He squeezed his shoulder again. “As long as you are sure,” he said in a soft tone of voice. Finn nodded, turning his head to him and gave him a bright smile but the older man could see that the smile did not reach his eyes and he could sense the pain behind his strong exterior. “I’ll be fine, Collins,” he assured but the words fell sour on his tongue. Finn squeezed his shoulder back in thanks before getting his gear on the way out, not turning back but he could feel the burning gaze of his superior as he went.

He could get through this and he would. But he had work to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN : I'm hoping that you all enjoyed this chapter! 
> 
> I know that the chapters are rather short but they will eventually get longer hahaha


	3. Investigation

The group were riding in a large, sleek Hyundai which belonged to the police force. Sinead glanced at Finn from the corner of her eye. She was worried for him. She personally thought that it was too early for him to go back to work but she decided to keep her opinions to herself. Finn sighed inwardly and looked over at her.

“Are you worrying about me?” his voice was light as he raised his eyebrow at her. Sinead bit her lip and looked ahead at Jennifer who was driving and Kaleb who was seated next to her. They spoke amongst themselves, so she decided that it was a good time to speak up. “I cannot help but feel worried,” she murmured softly as she looked out of the window, watching the streets and shops race by.

A shadow of a smile appeared on Finns’ lips. “I appreciate it, but you should not be dedicating all your time and energy to me,” he said softly with a slight frown appearing on his features. Sinead smiled, her forest eyes twinkling softly. “I’ve always been worried about you,” she replied to which Finn chuckled softly. He was about to reply when Jennifers’ voice brought them out of their small conversation. “We’ve arrived,” she announced, swerving the vehicle into a parking spot beside the shop. Kaleb squawked in surprise. “Geez, watch it Jen, bloody hell!” he shouted, making Jennifer smirk and she flipped him off, turning off the engine and stepping out. Finn rolled his eyes and held back a chuckle as he exited the vehicle after the rest of his team.

Jennifer and Kaleb always argued about something or other and it was nice to see something familiar among them, especially as he had been away for so long. But the way that he was treated and the way that people acted around him, one would have thought that he was back home from a holiday abroad. The group walked up to the shop. It was located at the bottom of the hill in the town, overlooking the budlings and fields up ahead.

Thankfully, Jennifer had parked them near to the shop, so they did not have to walk far. They soon approached the shop. It had a dark red exterior with gold curvy lettering, saying, ‘Magic and Fortune.’ It was strange to Finn because he had never seen the shop before. ‘Perhaps it opened just recently,’ he mused internally. “Fortune, huh?” Kaleb snorted in question as the group filed inside. “I hope that they sell fortune cookies because I’m starved,” he commented, and Finn automatically slapped him on the back of the head.

“Treat this seriously or you’re staying in the car,” he grunted and earned a glare in response. “Watch it, Mikaelson,” he growled but his eyes held a playful light in them. “Its’ good to see you again, Mikaelson,” he said and squeezed his shoulder. Jennifer nodded her head in acknowledgment to him, a small smile playing on the edges of her lips. She too was pleased to see him again.

“Likewise, likewise,” he said in reply and looked around. He felt like he had walked into Pinterest. The establishment was highly aesthetic. Rows upon rows of books, notebooks, and other texts stood proudly on the dark oak bookshelves. They looked rather expensive and he wondered how much all those texts cost. Different types of herbs, crystals of every colour, shape and size and liquids in thin glass tubes of all kinds were displayed all around the store, their names written in a similar script as the sign outside.

The shop was brightly lit but not too bright so that it was harsh on the eyes. The shiny wooden flooring contrasted nicely to the fresh, whitewashed walls. Suddenly behind the glass desk a young woman appeared. She had bright red hair and warm green eyes. Finn felt a sharp pang in his chest. He swallowed and coughed lightly in order to get rid of the painful lump in his throat. He was thankful that nobody else seemed to notice him in that moment. He did not want to be asked any questions.

The woman instantly reminded him of his late wife, even though they had different eye colours. The womans’ voice brought him out of what he was feeling. “How can I help you all?” she asked. She was smiling but Finn could tell that she was nervous. After all, it was not every day when four police investigators walked into your shop. Sinead immediately took charge, walking confidently up towards the desk, a gentle smile on her face in order to calm her nerves. Finn inwardly smiled. She was good at that. “Hello there, we are wondering if you mind answering some questions regarding the recent attacks?”

“Do not worry, you are not suspected of anything, but we think that you can help us” she explained in a calm tone of voice, her eyes fixed on the womans.’ She listened to everything that was being said to her. “Of course, I can answer the questions that you might have,” agreeing easily, a small smile coming onto her features. Finn decided that this was a good time to step in. He gestured towards Jennifer and Kaleb. Jennifer prepared herself to take any useful notes and Kaleb turned the shop sign from ‘OPEN to ‘CLOSED.’

The woman looked a little nervous, but Finn just smiled at her gently. “Do not worry, we just need a little privacy,” he explained to which the woman nodded in understanding. “Do you recognise this sign?” Jennifer showed her the sign of the pentagram on her phone. The woman narrowed her eyes for a few moments then her lips quirked up. “Well, I must say that you’ve come to the right place because I just so happen to know about pentagrams and everything in between. The pentagram represents a symbol of faith for many Wiccans, including myself.”

“The five points and the star signify the four classical elements along with a fifth which represents spirit or self. In the past, it was typically used for good and protection, but it is often misused as a satanic symbol. Wiccans and Satanists are not the same,” she explained to them, but she wondered what the point of it all was. But they must have a purpose otherwise they would not be asking all these strange questions. “Well, there was a sign of the pentagram present at one of the scenes recently,” Finn stepped in to explain.

The woman hummed and frowned, a thoughtful expression covering her features. “Oh, my goodness, that is odd,” she looked deep in thought and then she snapped her head up, looking at the officers, glancing at each one of them. “Wait – did you say that it was a recent case?” she asked in a rushed breath, eyes wide. Jennifer nodded her head.

“Yes, ma’am,” she answered, looking at the woman curiously. “Do you have any information that would be useful?” she asked in a professional tone of voice, but Finn could hear the hint of a command underneath it. The woman looked nervous for a few moments and took a deep breath and bit her lip. She seemed reluctant to speak about whatever was bothering her.

Then Kaleb steps forward and says, “ma’am if you are withholding information from us that could be useful for us, then you could be charged for the obstruction of justice,” he told her in a gentle but serious tone of voice. That seemed to encourage her as she took a shuddering breath before she spoke. “A couple of days ago, I was walking with my sister through the woods along with her daughter when she ran off, saying that she heard a chiming noise, something like that,” she explained.

“I and my sister were looking for her everywhere when suddenly she burst through a cluster of bushes, screaming.” She took a deeper breath and Finn could tell that she was getting more distressed as she retold the account of what happened. Sinead took a step closer towards her and she leaned over and placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it comfortingly.

She seemed to calm down from the kind gesture and she collected herself before continuing to speak. “She was covered with bruises and cuts and her eyes were glazed over as if she was drugged.” Finn looked to Jennifer and saw that she was furiously writing down the important information.

“Drugged?” Kaleb asked. “What do you mean by that?” he asked with curiosity colouring his voice. “Well, her eyes were unfocused, and her pupils were dilated, and she was slurring and stammering her words,” she explained, and Finn hummed in thought. “Did you take her to the hospital to check her out?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest, looking at her.

The woman nodded. “Yes, we took her to the doctors and they ran a tox screen. They found that she had been injected with alcohol. They said that pure vodka had been injected into her bloodstream, hence her state,” she said softly but the group heard what she said. Jennifer took a sharp intake of breath. “That could have killed her,” she whispered softly in shock and Finn nodded in agreement, an unreadable expression on his face.

“How old is the child?” Kaleb asked. “She is five years old. The incident traumatized her so much that she is afraid to go in the forest now,” she said sadly, and the group gave her sympathetic glances her way.

“Did she give any sort of description of someone who she might have seen?” Kaleb asked again and Finn could tell that he was getting desperate. Finn did not blame him. They were all desperate for answers because people were relying on the police and the other authorities to track the perpetrators down.

The woman nodded once again and reached to grab her phone from underneath the desk. She fiddled with it for a few moments before they all started to hear a recording and what they heard made Finn’s heart sink down to his stomach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN : So, I managed to update before next week as I had planned, so here we go hahaha
> 
> PS : so many crazy things are coming and I cannot wait to throw it all at you guys :)) but I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter


	4. Remembrance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: hints at death, slight religious language use, and panic attacks in the second half of the chapter

“He had…. jaw length brown hair...” the young girl in the recording stated. Her breath was ragged but she seemed to know what she was talking about. They could hear another voice in the background and Fin guessed that it was probably the girls’ mother whispering comforting words into her ears. “He... His...eyes...His eyes were so evil and dark...” Finn leaned forward so that he could listen better. The first part of her description got him a little worried and he did not know why. There could be loads of people in the world with that kind of hair.

But Finn knew someone who had that type of hair. He shook his head in order to rid himself of those thoughts. He did not want his mind invaded with the thoughts of him. The woman seemed to notice this and turned up the volume of the recording so that they could hear clearly. “He... his mouth was curled up into an evil smile and that was when everything went blurry and I stumbled back…” her voice was stronger now and Finn guessed that one of the attendants present or the mother had given something in order to make her feel better.

“Do you remember anything else?” someone whispered from the background in a cautious voice. There was silence for a few moments before he heard her take a deep breath before speaking. “…. He was wearing something...” he could hear her voice trailing off as she tried to come up with the words to speak. Finn only hoped that the girl was OK now. “A pentagram...” Her words made his heart sink to his stomach once again. Was that a sign? He made eye contact with

Jennifer and she had an uninterpretable expression clouding her features. “On his collarbone...” she whispered, then falling silent after she spoke. The information made his eyebrows furrow. Was this person part of a cult of some sort? Sinead furrowed her eyebrows as she took in what she was told.

The woman turned off her phone and looked at the officers, biting on her bottom lip. There was a beat of silence and nobody spoke for a few moments. “That was really helpful, thank you very much,” Kaleb said, nodding his head in acknowledgment as Jennifer was finishing off writing notes on what was shared with them. The woman nodded, “of course, I was happy to be of use,” she replied, a soft smile coming over her features. Finn nodded his head towards her, voicing his thanks.

“I hope that your niece gets better soon,” he said sincerely. Sinead nodded and smiled at her, thanking her for her cooperative attitude towards the situation before she made her way out of the shop, the rest of her team following suit. Finn threw a soft smile over his shoulder at her before stepping outside, but not before switching the sign into its original place.

Once they were in the car, the group went over what they had learned. “I just want to get to the bottom of this,” Finn sighed in mild exasperation as he looked out of the window. A chorus of agreements followed. “Hopefully, we can match a face to the description given, and then we can start to get to some solid suspects,” Jennifer said, and again everyone voiced their agreement.

“But whoever is doing this though is _beyond_ fucked up,” Kaleb muttered with a frown etched onto his features. “Like come on for fucks sakes, _children?_ I mean, killing grown adults is bad enough but when children are involved, that is a whole new ball game,” he practically ranted, his tone of voice dropping to a low, angry growl as he clenched his fists around the wheel, his knuckles going white because of the applied pressure.

Finn sighed deeply. He understood how he felt, he honestly did. But having your emotions involved could very well breed unfortunate events because you would not be thinking properly as you would be too angry and upset by what was happening. He was about to speak but Sinead beat him to it.

“Let’s try not to get _too_ heated about it,” she advised slowly, and Finn nodded his head in agreement. “Like hell, this is absolutely _awful_ , but we have to think about this rationally and carefully otherwise mistakes are bound to happen,” she explained. Kaleb just breathed harshly and slammed his foot down on the gas.

* * *

Finn sighed as he opened the door to his home. He did not really like calling it home because he never had anyone there. His wife and child were dead. Because you did not protect them, the voice in the back of his mind taunted him and Finn clenched his jaw and clenched his fists as he tried his best to keep calm. But it was not working.

The voice at the back of his head continued to taunt him, blaming him for the deaths of his son and wife. He could not take it anymore and he punched the wall in a burst of anger, his eyes burning with rage. “

**_SHUT UP!”_ **

He then broke down in tears, falling to his knees, his hands clutching the sides of his head, desperately tried to get the images out of his head. The dead body of his son -lying in a puddle his crimson blood, the blood pooling around his small head like an awful halo. Then the dead body of his wife, her own throat slit – her head at an awkward angle, her eyes that once held so much love for himself and his son would never light up with joy ever again – her eyes empty and dark.

The hot, salty tears flowed down his cheeks freely as he did not even try to brush them away. He rocked himself back and forth, his hands wrapped around his knees as if he were shielding himself from the world and the horrors that dwelt there. He did not even register the door opening and someone stepping through the threshold, shutting the door and gathering him into their arms, crushing him against their chest without any intention of letting him go.

_“Sage...?”_

He croaks through the cloud of grief. He could have sworn that he could smell the rose and honey scent of his dear wife that he greedily inhaled every day after work. “Oh... Finn...” the voice of his older sister filtered through his ears, breaking the delusion. His heart sunk to the bottom of his stomach, the loss hitting him another time, making him choke. He could not breathe. He tried to rock himself back and forth at a more rapid pace, but his sister would not allow it. “Breathe. Breathe...” she chanted over and over, attempting to get him back to her. She hated to see her dear brother like this. She had even thought of making him quit, especially with what was going on now. The voice at the back of her mind came to haunt her once more.

_Tell him the truth. He will never forgive you when he eventually finds out and you will end up losing your precious little brother forever._

Freya closed her eyes and blocked the voice out of her head but that did nothing to ease the guilt that was eating her up inside. But there was no time to think about that now. She had a sibling to take care of. Finn breathed ragged breaths as he calmed down. The first day after work and he had a panic attack. You are so stupid, Finn... The gentle voice of his sister brought him out of his self – deprecating thoughts. “Hey,” she whispered. Finn looked up into her kind green eyes and smiled. But the smile did not reach his eyes. His once-bright hazel green-eyes were cold and empty.

He swallowed to get rid of the painful lump in his throat and licked his lips before replying. “Hey.” He sighed deeply. “I am sorry that you had to see that…” he hated being weak, especially in front of his family. Freya sighed and he got himself ready for what she was going to say. “Finn, what you went through was absolutely horrific and sometimes I wonder how you are still standing after what happened,” she said, her voice thick with emotion.

The tragedies that he had gone through shook the family and she knew that her brother would never be the same again. Finn sighed. “Well,” he gave a harsh, bitter laugh. Freya shivered at the sound, a chill shooting up her spine. 

“When the kingdom comes, I will be reunited with them, so you don’t have to worry,” he muttered underneath his breath, looking anywhere apart from his sister’s face. He could not bear to see the pity that would be filling up her eyes. He had enough of everyone’s pity to last him a lifetime. He breaks out of the warmth of her arms as he brings himself up to his full height, his sister still on the floor.

“You can show yourself out,” he says as he does not face her. He does not want to look at her otherwise he will just break down in her arms and he could not afford to do that. “Finn,” she whispers, her voice on the verge of breaking but Finn holds his ground.

“Freya...”

He almost growls, his hands balled up into fists as he attempts to calm himself down before he loses control. He hears a sigh and then he hears the door shut. He takes a deep breath as he looks around. She is gone. Finn takes another deep breath and goes upstairs to sleep. Too tired and sad to eat. If he did, he would probably get sick before he could finish it anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Sorry for the slight delay in the update schedule, but I had a strong session of writer's block. But hey ho, here I am. I hope that you guys enjoyed!


	5. Who are you?

Finn couldn’t sleep. The images of his dead family played over and over in his head like a broken record. He sighed and sat up in bed, rubbing a tired hand over his face. The time on his clock read 5:30am, casting a harsh red light which contrasted to the soft yellow light from his lamp. His feet moved on his own as he got out of bed and went toward his walk in- wardrobe. He opened the doors and stepped onto the cold wooden floor, sending a slight chill up his spine. He swallowed and treaded further into the space. Just then, the wind howled and slammed the door to his wardrobe shut. His heart lurched, whirling around. He took a deep breath and went back into his bedroom and crossed the space to his carpet to close the window.

he did so, a large crow flew in and circled the room. Finn yelled in fright as he ducked down, his heart hammering against his chest. After a few moments, he decided to get up again and see if it was clear. He slowly got up to his feet and looked around warily. He went to his bedside cabinet where a glass of water was usually there in case he got thirsty during the night time. He picked up the glass and looked down in absolute horror, his hands shaking as if he was experiencing an A class drug withdrawal.

_The glass was filed with blood._

Finn screamed.

Screamed in tiredness, screamed in anger as he smashed the glass down, making the crimson liquid splash over the carpet and on his face, but he didn’t care. He didn’t care about anything anymore. He picked up the glass shards, not caring as they cut his skin. He treaded toward the window once more to throw the pieces out when his heart fell to the depths of his stomach in dread and disgust. There on the concrete below was the same crow that flew into his room, but it was surrounded by its own bones, shrivelled up and dry. Finn cried in frustration as he threw the shards out and they were picked up by the wind and they scattered around the dead bird, twinkling dangerously in the moonlight.

Finn looked up and saw the full moon riding smoky clouds. When did my life become such a mess? He thought bitterly, breathing in and out, his breaths becoming gentle yet freezing whips as they vanished from sight as quickly as they came, thinning out into nothing. Like my will to live, he thought dolefully. He remembered his sister’s words from the day before. He himself did not know how he was still standing. But maybe the gods had a plan for him. Some plan, he thought to himself woefully, wrapping his arms around himself from the chill but he would not move away. He then got a sudden thought, making his lips turn up into the faintest of smiles – but it was empty yet somewhat bittersweet.

_How were Ulrik and Sage?_

He imagined them dressed in white, running across the green plains of the afterlife, angelic smiles adoring their faces as the mother and son laughed and chased together in the gardens, their laughs catching on the warm, summer breeze. They would be forever young, shrouded in immortality and beauty. They would make flower crowns, explore the heavenly beauty of nature that could not be found on earth. They would have good food in constant supply – the food and drink, replacing that of the gods– they would never grow hungry, weary or tired. They would finally be perfect. They would meet their ancestors, residing in the halls of Valhalla for eternity, yet they would be waiting for him to join him there.

* * *

He imagined that after he died, he would wake up, his head lying on the lap of his wife, her gentle, loving hands running through his hair, also dressed in white. She would look down on him from above like an angel, with love swirling in her green orbs as she would open her mouth and say, “welcome home, my dear, sweet Finn,” pressing a gentle kiss on his brow. He would hear passionate, melodious music in the distance- the music welcoming him into the domains of the afterlife. The sunlight would be kissing his skin and his senses would be engulfed in the scent of the lush nature, but he would still smell the rose and honey scent of his wife as he surrounded himself in it, trying his best not to inhale greedy gulps of her scent.

She would then take his hand and lead him to a bubbling stream, where their son would be there, waiting for him as he threw stones in the water, causing ripples. He would then turn around, his face lighting up with joy as he would run as fast as his little legs could carry him, launching himself into his fathers arms, wrapping his tiny hands around his broad shoulders, burying his small face into his shoulder, inhaling his fatherly scent. And then he would lift his face up to look into his father’s eyes, his sea- green eyes sparkling with joy as he would whimper out in his baby voice, “welcome home papa, we waited so long for you,” his chubby fingers latching onto his shirt, grinning his cheeky grin from ear to ear. And then his wife would take his hand once more and there they would go, enjoying the afterlife as a family, carrying his small son in one arm, holding onto his dear wife’s hand in the other. And there they would stay together for the end of time, never again having to endure heartache ever again. He looked up toward the heavens, silently praying to the gods to keep his wife and son safe.

A tiny smile played on his lips as a single tear rolled down his cheek, his heart clenching with the ache of longing. They were taken away from him too soon. They were supposed to grow old together, see their son grow up, experience many birthdays. He was supposed to make friends, relishing in his childhood and youth. He was supposed go to school, learn new things that would make him blurt out everything that he had learned to them. Finn would give anything to see his son again.

_Would you sell your own soul?_

The voice at the back of his head sounded. He clenched his jaw and furiously pushed it down. Now was not the time. If it was even just a glimpse his son. Or he would take many glimpses until his heart was satisfied. He glanced down at the photo which stood on the windowsill. He picked the photo and grazed his thumb over his beloved faces. He photo was taken on Ulrik’s third birthday. He and his wife were dressed in yellow, kneeling behind their son who was holding a gift in his hands, clinging onto it for dear life as if it would vanish before his eyes. He kissed the photo, his eyes prickling with unshed tears behind his eyes as he gazed at the photo, running his fingertips against it. He was supposed to go to university if he so chose to do. They were supposed to congratulate him in his new job. They were supposed to enjoy their anniversaries as they crossed the milestones of their marriage.

They were supposed to look on in fondness as their son eventually brought home his life partner…But none of that would ever be happening. He then wondered if they would have any more children. Another smile graced his lips as he conjured up images in his mind to escape the cruel reality that he was currently in. He clutched himself tighter he thought about it, trying his very best not to cry, but he could not hold back the tears any longer. So he let the tears fall like am overflown rive. He poured out his sorrow and pain. He mourned anew, hot, fat tears rolling over his sharp cheekbones like a waterfall.

Maybe they would have another girl. He would have named her Ingrid, which meant “beloved”; beautiful.” Sage always wanted a big family and he promised her just that. But that never came to pass, because she was dead. And she was never coming back. Finn choked as the ever-familiar painful lump of grief and pain clogged in his lungs, making it hard to breathe, a sour and bitter taste clouding his taste buds. He mourned for the children that he would never have. He mourned for the loss of his darling, innocent son, he mourned for the loss of his dear, beloved wife.. And he mourned for the pieces of him that died when they died. He brushed the tears and looked up at the brightening skies. It must be around 6’olock now, he thought to himself as he prepared to go about his daily life. But it wasn’t life anymore. He was simply existing in the world as everyone went about their lives. He was about to turn away when he saw a shining in the distance.

A star was brightly shining.

Was this a sign? Or was he too weighed down by grief to even comprehend reality? He smiled a slightly bigger smile as he drank in the image of the star. It was so close yet so far away. He raced toward his bedside table and grabbed his phone to take a photo. He closed in on the image of the star and snapped a picture, immediately setting it as his background photo. This photo would give him the hope and strength that he desperately needed. Whenever he was feeling downcast, he would stare at the photo and be filled with the hope that he would, one day see his family again. He then could have sworn that he could hear the music of his wife and his son’s laughter, mixing in with the bright and early morning song of the birds.

He allowed himself to smile as he decided to get ready for the day ahead. He closed the windows and stepped away from the window. But dread was creeping inside his bones once more as his eyes travelled to the spot where the blood was. Only it wasn’t blood. It was just a normal water stain. His mind was certainly playing tricks on him, taking advantage of the fact that he was, yet again still grieving for the loss of his family. He scoffed in utter disbelief at his foolishness and went into the bathroom to wash and dress. Only then did his body make it’s hunger known. He rolled his eyes in annoyance as he stepped out of the shower, wrapping a bath towel around his waist as he went into the bathroom to get himself dressed and to look presentable. He fixed the collar on his shirt in the mirror, his hair falling into his eye. His hair was getting considerably longer now but he couldn’t be bothered to cut it.

The rules of his job said nothing about the men having longer than average hair. Maybe he needed the change. Maybe he would get a man bun and tie it back but shave the underneath. He could dye his hair a honey blonde colour or even get highlights. He smirked as he imagined himself with the particular hairstyle. He would definitely turn heads. But he did not care much to the attention. He just wanted something new and fresh. Maybe then he would feel at least a little better. He remembered his therapist saying something about how small changes to yourself could be a good thing, especially when you were grieving. He then made his way to the kitchen to fix himself something to eat before he headed to work.

* * *

He decided to have a simple eggs with toast alongside some coffee. Just then his phone sounded from the bedroom upstairs. He groaned, cursing and muttering underneath his breath as he ran up the stairs, almost tripping over his long legs in the attempt to get toward his phone was left on the bed. He sighed and snatched it up, unlocking the device and looking at the text message on the screen.

The text was from Freya.

 **Freya:** How are you doing?

As always, Finn decided to lie. He pursed his lips as he typed out a reply, going downstairs as he did so.

I am fine

The reply was instant, and it made him sigh once again as he got his breakfast ready.

**Freya:** Are you sure? you were really upset yesterday and I just wanted to check up on you

Finn smiled softly at her kindness. Even when he had been rather dismissive of her yesterday, she still decided to check up on him. Moments like these remined him that he was not alone. 

you are too kind to me I promise that I am OK, I just need the sleep In fact, I’m having breakfast

 **Freya:** That’s good, I’m glad that everything is OK but what are you having?

eggs and bread

 **Freya:** that’s nasty

you are the nasty one, not me

* * *

The siblings spoke to each other, engaging in their usual banter until Freya told him that she had to go get ready for work. Finn looked at the time. There was no time to sit down and eat, so he put his food in a Tupperware dish and got some coffee in a thermos flask before getting it all in his bag, forcing his feet in shoes, getting his jacket, ID and other necessities before walking out of his house, shutting the door firmly behind him, unlocking his car as he went.

He arrived at work with five minutes to spare, managing to eat his breakfast while he was driving. He nodded and said the usual “good morning,” greeting to his fellow colleagues and staff before making his way into the conference room. As he was passing through, his eyes caught sight of a drawing on the desk. The photo looked eerily similar to his younger brother who died 10 years ago. His death was because of physically and mentally taxing exorcisms carried out by the local catholic church before he was put into an asylum in Ireland.

He was a high-risk patient, so he and his family were not permitted to see him. Strangely enough, only his mother and father were allowed to see him. Even after all these years he still wondered why that was. Was it because they had social ties with the people who worked there? Finn would never know. A year later after he was put into the asylum, he had died. His death was classed as a suicide by the coroner’s office. Finn bit his lip as he studied the photo. He just looked so similar to his deceased brother.

_Too similar…_

A voice pulled him out of his thoughts. It was Collins. “Remember the lady you spoke to a few days ago?” he asked him, and he nodded. “Well, a description was given, and we were going to look into it, see what we could find, but we found absolutely nothing on the databases. No name, no age, no address - not even relatives, distant or direct,” he explained, and Finn’s eyebrows furrowed at the explanation. “But there has to be something,” he protested, confusion clouding his features. Collins sighed, nodding his head in agreement.

“I got the technological team to sour every inch and they got nothing,” he frowned. “You didn’t run it by Julian?” he raised his eyebrow in slight skepticism. Julian was a master at anything to do with technology. He had even gotten a nickname among them all. ‘Wizard Techno’ was his nickname. Collins shook his head. Finn almost choked on his spit, his eyes wide.

“Are you kidding me?” he almost yelled, thoughts whirling around in his mind. This was the first time Julian had found nothing on the databases and he was working at the station for almost twenty-five years. He was a former hacker who was caught trying to hack into the MI5. After the higher ups had seen his outstanding talent, they decided to get him onto the team dealing with technological crimes. And that was where he remained until this day. Finn could not believe it. “I wish that I was joking, Mikaelson, I wish I was,” he said with a deep sigh. Finn bit his lip, worrying it with his teeth. “This is bad, really bad,” he muttered underneath his breath, his eyebrow furrowing as he thought. Collins was about to speak up when someone burst in, slamming the door open. It was Jaime. He looked out of breath and his eyes were wild, his chest heaving up and down as he tried to get the words out.

“There’s been another murder.”

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter! please leave your thoughts down below :)


	6. Who are you? (pt2)

Everyone in the room was silent for a few moments, processing the information given before they burst into action. Finn immediately raced for the door before Collins pulled him back by his collar. “Hey tiger, easy, easy,” he said, pulling him back into the room. Finn looked exasperated and looked at him with a questioning gaze. “What is it?” he was practically vibrating with annoyance. “Just be careful, OK?” his superior warned him, and he nodded before rushing out with the rest of his team.

He jumped into the car and Jayden put his foot down onto the pedal, the sirens whirring as the car hurtled down the streets at top speed. Finn’s blood ran cold when he recognised the area they were driving into. The area was his old neighborhood.

He saw his old family home in passing and he got another pang of sadness at the all too familiar building, but he pushed it down. Now was not the time. The car parked on the other side of the road where there was blue tape surrounding the house with police officers guarding the area.

Multiple CSI members clad in their white suits from top to bottom were setting up their white tent and some were carrying evidence in zip lock bags and putting it safely away for processing. He caught sight of a large, bloody knife has he stepped out of the car and a chill went down his spine.

He pushed past gossiping neighbors and ignored the looks that some of them gave him. He stepped onto the pavement and approached an officer who was outside. From the corner of his eye, he could see a couple leaning on each other, weeping in grief, a little child grasping onto the father’s trouser leg. Finn felt a rush of sadness for the family. “What have we got?” he asked.

The officer sighed before speaking, a sad look in his dark eyes. “Four-year-old Luther brown was killed and eventually dismembered while the babysitter was held and restrained, forced to watch the ordeal,” he explained, and Finn nodded his head in acknowledgement. “Where were the parents?” he asked with a slight frown on his face.

He couldn’t understand why the parents would leave a small child on their own so early on in the day. It wasn’t even lunchtime yet. He felt absolutely sick to his stomach at the thought of someone so small and innocent being hacked to death without any remorse.

“That’s the tricky part. The father claimed that they were taking the daughter to the doctors for an appointment, but when we deiced to follow it up, there was no evidence of them even taking her there. We checked the files, and nothing came back,” he explained with a sigh. Finn frowned and resisted the urge to glance at the couple once more out of the corner of his eye. “What are your thoughts on this?” he asked him.

“I think it’s blackmail,” he said, and Finn nodded his head in agreement. “I do too. I don’t think that anyone would be deranged to kill their child in the most gruesome of ways,” he explained. He rolled his eyes when Tom raised a questioning eyebrow at him. Finn just rolled his eyes in response.

“You know what I mean, Manning,” he said with a sigh and then it was the officer’s turn to roll his eyes. “I was teasing, you, Mikaelson,” he replied in the same tone of voice before he patted him good-naturedly on the shoulder before walking away to approach the couple.

He steeled his nerves as he approached them, smiling at them softly, sympathy shining in his eyes. “I’m extremely sorry for your loss,” he began, and he cringed at the typical opening sentence. However, the father just glared at him before nodding his head.

“Get on with it, then officer,” he said gruffly, and Finn nodded his head, immediately threw himself into the questioning. “I heard from a colleague of mine that you took your daughter to the doctors, but they couldn’t find anything to back up your statement,” he began, his eyes flickering from each parent. “Can you tell me why that is?” he asked, resisting the urge to raise his eyebrow.

The mother looked at her husband before her eyes flickered to her child, biting her bottom lip nervously. “Can I- “she was about to say when Sinead came over to them. “I can look after the child when you talk to officer Mikaelson,” she offered with a smile. The mother nodded her head, putting her arm around her child’s shoulders, bending down towards her level.

“The officer will look after you while mommy and daddy talk to the officer,” she reassured. The child looked unconvinced for a few moments before she took Sinead’s hand and walked away. The mother then turned to Finn and wrapped her arm around herself. The father took a deep breath, wrapping an arm around his wife. Finn waited patiently for them to start talking. He didn’t have to wait long before the mother finally decided to talk.

“It was last week,” she began, her voice on the verge of breaking. Finn took a step closer toward them in order to hear them better. “We started getting little notes written in blood. At first we didn’t think much of it until it was today, and then..” The father’s voice trailed off, his eyes filling with tears. Finn took a deep breath. “What were exactly written on these notes?” he asked, his pen at the ready. The mother got her phone from her back pocket. “I took photos of the notes, if that’s okay,” she explained, and Finn nodded his head. “That is fine,” he reassured her.

The woman showed the notes in the camera roll. Finn stepped so that he was beside her, leaning down to see what was on the screen. Finn’s eyebrows were furrowed as he looked at the images. “I would need to take in your phone in as evidence, is that OK?” he asked the woman and he hoped that she would cooperate with him. The woman nodded her head. “Of course,” she replied, and handed the phone to another officer who put the device into a zip -lock bag.

“Did you tell the police about these notes?” he asked. The woman looked toward her husband as if to say, ‘you tell him.’ “We did, but they said that it must have been a dirty prank or something like that,” he said with a bitter laugh.

Finn clenched his jaw in anger and did his best to fix his cool mask in place, but it was rather difficult when the blatant negligence of the police force was part of the cause of an innocent child’s death. “Who was the officer?” he asked sharply, causing the woman to flinch slightly. “He said that he was officer Peyton” the man reported. Finn held back a growl that was threatening to spill from his lips. Liam Peyton had a reputation of being one of the laziest people in the force.

He had been given countless warnings and had taken ordered leaves because of his attitude not only to the job, but those around him. Finn scribbled down the name in his notebook and bit back a smirk. There was no way that he could come back from this. Liam Peyton would have nothing after this, and he was going to make sure of it.

“Officer Mikaelson?”

Finn snapped his head up to look at the couple. “Is everything alright?” the woman asked, looking at him in slight concern. Finn pursed his lips, shaking his head. “No, it’s not,” he replied in a dark tone of voice. “Officer Peyton has a reputation of having a flippant attitude,” he explained, his eyes flashing with anger as he spoke.

“I will make sure that justice will be served,” he vowed, looking at the couple in the eyes. “These are extremely difficult times that you are going through, and I understand,” he said with sympathy shining in his eyes.

The man growled, walking further up to Finn. “What could you possibly understand about our situation?” he demanded in a low, threatening tone of voice. Finn looked at him unflinchingly. “My son was killed brutally five years ago, and my wife followed him a month later,” he replied, looking into the man’s dark eyes. The man flinched slightly at his tone of voice but quickly composed himself while his wife looked on with sympathy. But Finn did not care for sympathy.

He just wanted to let the couple understand that they were not alone. “I…Well…” the man was at loss for words. Finn merely shook his head. “There is no need to say anything,” he replied. “We will find who did these despicable acts and harsh punishments will be carried out,” he said with conviction colouring his voice. The woman blew her nose into a tissue and nodded her head.

“Thank you so much, officer,” she said sincerely, her voice shaking and her eyes glassy. The father nodded his head in acknowledgement and held out his hand which Finn shook before walking the opposite direction. His eyes darkened. He wasn’t going to let ‘officer’ Peyton get away with this, not this time.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: here is another chapter! I hope that you enjoyed it :)


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